Meet Up Feedback

Meeting others that have been affected by a sudden cardiac arrest can be a real positive step in your recovery.

Below is some of the feedback we have received from previous meet ups…

A real pleasure

For me it was a real pleasure to meet others I had not met before but had communicated thru Facebook. To hear their stories and what they thought.

Chris

So many fantastic people

I don’t know about anyone else but my life did change in 1 day….but for the better! My SCA has led me to meet so many fantastic people and do so many things I wouldn’t have done before. I’ve had a fantastic week this week – one of the best for a very long time xxx

Trudy

I’ve felt a lot better since the meetup

Well it’s a month since the Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK meetup. I posted at the time saying how much I enjoyed it, how inspired I had been and how much I got out of the day. 1 month on I feel a follow up post is required because I am still feeling the benefits from that day. Since my SCA I have always tried to be positive about things, get the most out of life and carry on as normal however no one can really appreciate the emotional aspect of being an SCA survivor until you are one so leading a normal life afterwards can sometimes be difficult.

I work full time have my own business as well and also have my 87 year old dad to take care of plus I do like to make the most of my free time so generally I do lead a full and active life but my biggest obstacle seems to have been the anxiety and panic attacks something which I am sure most of us are familiar with especially the vicious circle of palpitations or fast heartbeat causing anxiousness which it turn makes them worse.

Whilst I tried my hardest not to let this affect my life it was not always possible however since spending the afternoon of June 24th in a room full of people in the same situation as me I have not had a single attack. I have certainly felt a lot better about things since that day, a few people have even commented that I seem more like my old self than I have done for a long time so it seems I am now seeing longer term benefits from the meetup as well as short term ones so from me a massive thank you to Paul and Tabatha for organising it and to everyone associated with this group for the wonderful work they do

Bob

Special people

Thank you for a wonderful meet up on Saturday, so good to hear all our stories, special people I think.

Pete

Brilliant!

The day was brilliant!

David

Inspiring

It was great to meet everyone and to swap stories. Up until Friday night I had not met another survivor or relative, so didn’t quite know what to expect. I’m glad that we could take comfort from our shared experiences. It was reassuring to see that even in the face the terrible event that we suffered and its after effects we all seemed to have kept our sense of humour and have a great outlook on life – for me that was the inspiring thing

David

Really enjoyable

I really enjoyed it!  It was great to meet everyone and hear their stories

Mandy

Inspiring and positive!

Well today was the reason I am in London and what a worthwhile and inspiring day it was. I was at a meeting organised by Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK for survivors of SCAs. With the exception of Chris who I met up with yesterday I have never met anyone else who has survived a Sudden Cardiac Arrest so today was very special.

It was nice to meet up with so many lovely people and although I have never met any of them before we all seemed to have a bond already formed by our SCAs which made it very easy for us all to get along.

I was surprised by how young everyone there was and I would guess the average age to be around 40. Most people like myself had no prior health issues and were generally in good to very good health prior to having the SCA and felt nothing beforehand and again like myself the first they knew was waking up from a coma in hospital.

Most people who suffer from an SCA don’t survive or if they do they have quite severe brain damage.

Listening to other people’s stories we all seem to have had an element of luck, either by making a better recovery than most, having someone around who knew what to do and we’re able to perform CPR quickly or as in my case being close to an external defibrillator which helped us to not only survive but survive with only minimal brain damage to enable us to still live a reletively normal life still.

No one no matter how close or well meaning they are can ever really fully understand what we all go through emotionally on a daily basis and it was very comforting to be with people who share this.

The most inspiring thing of the day was seeing how positive everyone one is. I for one have gained a lot from today and hopefully others have too.

Thank you SCA UK for a very remarkable and worthwhile day

Bob

I wouldn’t be where I’m at now without it

Your sentiments mirrored my own especially after my first meet up late last year, I wouldn’t be where I’m at now without it, I’m sure of it

[Commenting on Bob’s feedback]

Mandie

Enjoyable day

Really enjoyed today, nice people

Pete

An absolute privilege

We all had a great time on Saturday and felt most welcome. It was an absolute privilege to meet each and every one of you

Joanne